Rudder leading edge

[Thunderpig]

Trailing edge turned out pretty nice...on to the leading edge rolling. Started out with a 3/4 in PVC, up to 1" then 1.25". With the clecos in, it's obvious that you can't get a huge bend when trying to get into the spar area. Don't have photos up on my log yet, but have read over a dozen threads on this subject but haven't seen anything about how much gap is allowable between the two halves before clecoing for the final drilling. I have left the middle and lower pieces cleco'd for now, but when I pull the clecos out, I am left with about 3/4" gap between the two edges, which forces me to push them together before putting the clecos back in. Is this permissible? Not sure how I can get the sides to bend over any more...concerned about side loading on the skin and spar connections.

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by Thunderpig

...on to the leading edge rolling. Started out with a 3/4 in PVC, up to 1" then 1.25". .

I don't understand this. Did you roll with a small ID pipe, then roll again with a larger one? For the -10 just roll once, with the 1.25" OD pipe.

Yes, there may be some "spring-back", so you may have to "help" join the two halves together. But not to the extent that there is excessive stress near the forward spar.

[Richard Connell]

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ding+edge+roll

Worked a treat. Great idea

[Thunderpig]

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/displa...g=246239&row=1

I watched the Jason Ellis video of his progress in this area and his gap is about the same as mine. This is what I am asking about...

[BrianDC]

Originally Posted by Richard Connell

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ding+edge+roll

Worked a treat. Great idea

This. Worked great and easy to do solo.

[rvanstory]

Your gap looks ok to me. From pics, it doesn't appear to be too much of a gap that rivets won't hold up over time. The real question is how much tension does it take to pull the edges together. The amount of tension on rivets is more of a "feel" than a "look".

If you're worried about too much tension, you could just add additional rivets. This is what Jason Ellis did on his. He doubled the number of rivets by adding one between each existing hole.

[Thunderpig]

Originally Posted by rvanstory

Your gap looks ok to me. From pics, it doesn't appear to be too much of a gap that rivets won't hold up over time. The real question is how much tension does it take to pull the edges together. The amount of tension on rivets is more of a "feel" than a "look".

If you're worried about too much tension, you could just add additional rivets. This is what Jason Ellis did on his. He doubled the number of rivets by adding one between each existing hole.

I don't have very much pillowing to counteract, but had planned on this. Thx...I'll look at that other method when the time comes for the elevators.